Family of police torture victim wants justice
Wednesday 2 September 2015 08:55
Sashin Naidoo
The officers were all granted bail
on the grounds that they are all not flight risks and that they will not
interfere with witnesses. (SABC)
The
Tembisa Magistrate's Court, east of Johannesburg, has granted bail of R2 000
each to 10 police officers accused of torturing and killing a man.
The 37-year-old Khuthazile Mbedu died in hospital in 2014, four days after being arrested for theft.
The Tactical Response Team (TRT) members are accused of torturing him with a taser (an electroshock device).
The officers were all granted bail on the grounds that they are all not flight risks and that they will not interfere with witnesses.
Both the State and police watchdog, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), did not oppose any of the 10 officers' bail applications. However, two of the accused do have previous convictions.
One officer was convicted of assault in May this year, and another was convicted of helping a prisoner escape in 2008.
IPID spokesperson Grace Langa says even though the officers were granted bail, she is confident that at the end of the day justice will be served.
"It’s still the beginning they have received bail and we will have to wait until the end of the case of the trial because we coming back on the 10th of September and the trial is starting. I know for now it is painful for family members for the fact that they received bail and they are not happy, but let’s wait for the whole process we have evidence, we have witnesses and at the end of the day justice will be served,"says Langa.
Family and friends of the 10 officers who were sitting in the court's public gallery applauded after the magistrate handed down his judgement.
However, this did not sit well with the family of the victim. Mbedu's brother in-law Collin Dlamini says all the family wants is for justice to prevail.
"I think justice is prevailing now, the only thing that is disturbing us is one thing. We are trying to solve the problem. We are the ones who are crying now, we can’t replace my brother in-law. But look at the relatives of the suspect, it looks like they are on the side of putting the influence that one must be hurt. They don't even care. They are clapping hands as if the magistrate is doing mistakes
.So we are not here to fight against one another, we are here so that justice must be served and things must be right," says Dlamini.
It is alleged that the 10 officers arrested Mbedu for theft in Ivory Park on the of 8th of December 2014 and while they were transporting him to the police station, they tortured him, which ultimately led to his death. The case has been postponed to Thursday next week.
The 37-year-old Khuthazile Mbedu died in hospital in 2014, four days after being arrested for theft.
The Tactical Response Team (TRT) members are accused of torturing him with a taser (an electroshock device).
The officers were all granted bail on the grounds that they are all not flight risks and that they will not interfere with witnesses.
Both the State and police watchdog, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), did not oppose any of the 10 officers' bail applications. However, two of the accused do have previous convictions.
One officer was convicted of assault in May this year, and another was convicted of helping a prisoner escape in 2008.
IPID spokesperson Grace Langa says even though the officers were granted bail, she is confident that at the end of the day justice will be served.
"It’s still the beginning they have received bail and we will have to wait until the end of the case of the trial because we coming back on the 10th of September and the trial is starting. I know for now it is painful for family members for the fact that they received bail and they are not happy, but let’s wait for the whole process we have evidence, we have witnesses and at the end of the day justice will be served,"says Langa.
Family and friends of the 10 officers who were sitting in the court's public gallery applauded after the magistrate handed down his judgement.
However, this did not sit well with the family of the victim. Mbedu's brother in-law Collin Dlamini says all the family wants is for justice to prevail.
"I think justice is prevailing now, the only thing that is disturbing us is one thing. We are trying to solve the problem. We are the ones who are crying now, we can’t replace my brother in-law. But look at the relatives of the suspect, it looks like they are on the side of putting the influence that one must be hurt. They don't even care. They are clapping hands as if the magistrate is doing mistakes
.So we are not here to fight against one another, we are here so that justice must be served and things must be right," says Dlamini.
It is alleged that the 10 officers arrested Mbedu for theft in Ivory Park on the of 8th of December 2014 and while they were transporting him to the police station, they tortured him, which ultimately led to his death. The case has been postponed to Thursday next week.
